Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Exposition palace · San Francisco, United States
Palace of Fine Arts
- Dated
- 1915; rebuilt 1964–67
- Declared purpose
- Art gallery for the 1915 fair
- Today
- Survives (rebuilt)
- Architect of record
- Bernard Maybeck, architect: about 51 when credited (1913, born 1862). Build time on record: about 2 years (1913–15), rebuilt in concrete in the 1960s.All architects of record →
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
The only palace left from the 1915 fair: a rotunda and colonnade over a lagoon. It was recast in concrete in the 1960s.
Saved by the public
The city kept it after the fair. It decayed until it was rebuilt to the same design.
Ruin by design?
Its architect said it was meant to look like a Roman ruin. Researchers ask if it really was one.
Questions worth asking
- What did the original 1915 structure stand on?
Possible original uses
- Temple or gathering rotunda
What the photos show
Surrounding Buildings
Old buildings nearby in San Francisco. Compare the stone, the domes and the dates.
Lost Buildings
Neighbours that were torn down or burned. Tap one for its photos.
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
